The Sought Ones
by custardpringle
Summary: (Sequel to The Lost Ones) They were supposed to be gone forever. But "forever" is a very relative thing. [COMPLETE!]
1. Sha're and Charlie

TITLE: The Sought Ones  
  
SEQUEL: to "The Lost Ones"  
  
AUTHOR: Cyn(di)  
  
EMAIL: custardpringle@yahoo.com  
  
RATING: PG—language  
  
CATEGORY: supernatural, romance, drama, angst  
  
SUMMARY: They were supposed to be gone forever. But "forever" is a very relative thing.  
  
SPOILERS: I'm pretending "Heroes" and "Lost City" never happened, but anything else is fair game.  
  
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Wasn't going to post this till Monday, but I couldn't stand it any longer.  
  
Broken Skye, who to my knowledge never actually read "The Lost Ones," thinks Daniel died at the end and told me to write a sequel bringing him back. So I'm writing one. It starts . . . hmm, maybe a month or so after the other story ends. If you haven't read "The Lost Ones" either, parts of this may not make sense to you, so please go do that now.  
  
I'm not very good at writing the POV of an eight-year-old boy. Please be patient with me.  
  
I don't own any of these people, except for Aurel. And, considering her, cough, pleasant, cough, personality, I'd be more than happy to let the Stargate people have her as well.  
  
This is, and will be, betaed by Frisha and LE McMurray, for which I am deeply indebted to them both.  
  
--------------------------------------------------  
  
Submitted for your consideration: deep in the bowels of the SGC, a storage room.  
  
A small, empty, forgotten storage room.  
  
Six cold, bare, grey concrete surfaces with cold, grey, vacant air between them.  
  
And a flash of light—not blinding, for there was no one there for it to blind.  
  
Or was there?  
  
A cold, grey storage room, empty but for two people.  
  
Two people, who stood there looking around them, wholly disoriented  
  
Two dead people.  
  
A small blue-eyed boy with a mop of light brown hair, wearing a t-shirt and jeans and wondering what had happened to the small pistol whose barrel he had been examining with interest only moments ago. A moment later, this thought was joined by contemplation of how angry this disappearance would make his father, and who his unfamiliar companion might be.  
  
A young woman with dark curly hair and deep brown eyes, dressed in the finery of a queen she was not, worrying about what had happened to the man she had only recently been killing. At the same time, she was just beginning to realize that for the first time in two years she was alone in her own head.  
  
A small, forgotten storage room, empty but for two people and a voice.  
  
*You have been restored,* it told them coldly, slithering through their minds like a snake.  
  
The boy shuddered and clutched the woman's skirt, and she crouched down instinctively to comfort him. "Who are you?" she called out. "What have you done to us?"  
  
*I have restored you,* the voice restated with a chuckle. *You both have been dead for some time. I retrieved you both from shortly before your actual deaths.*  
  
Neither was sufficiently calm to wonder why.  
  
"I'm dead?" the boy asked, wide-eyed. "This doesn't look like heaven. Are we ghosts?"  
  
She hugged him. "I think what we are being told is that we are not dead even though we should be."  
  
"Why?"  
  
*That will become clear in time.*  
  
The woman shook her head suspiciously, but her eyes too widened abruptly as a question came to mind. The last instant before her death, the last thing she remembered . . . "My husband!" she cried out in sudden alarm. "Is he all right?"  
  
*He is all right,* the voice assured her, although it didn't sound terribly pleased about it. *He is here. I will direct you to him.*  
  
The boy perked up slightly, addressing the voice directly for the first time. "What about my mom and dad? Are they here too?"  
  
*Your father is here. I will take you to him as well. All I ask is that you keep my existence a secret, at least for now.*  
  
"Then how are we to explain what has happened to us?" the woman asked.  
  
*I will reveal myself eventually,* it promised. *But now is not yet the time.*  
  
"Very well," she agreed doubtfully, and the boy nodded his assent as well. "I will keep your secret—for now, at least."  
  
The door sprung open, seemingly of its own accord. The two passed cautiously through it into an abandoned corridor. He was still clinging tightly to her hand.  
  
Then the voice began to whisper to them again, and they separated wordlessly to follow their own paths, the door swinging noiselessly shut behind them.  
  
The storage room was empty once more.  
  
-----  
  
Having grown only too accustomed to military procedure over the past two years, Sha're was not particularly surprised that she was accosted by guards almost as soon as she entered a more commonly used part of the base. As they escorted her officiously to a small holding room, she caught a glimpse of the young boy she had met before, and a name drifted to the surface of her confused mind: Charlie. Charlie O'Neill. Sitting down on the small cot provided, she wondered about that momentarily, knowing she'd never seen the boy before.  
  
But Daniel had told her about him, certainly. And she knew quite well that Charlie O'Neill had been dead over a year before she had even met Jack and Daniel.  
  
"Wait," Sha're called out quickly as the second of the two soldiers was closing the door behind them. "You must find my husband."  
  
"Really," he said indulgently. "And who would that be?"  
  
"Doctor Jackson." The formal mode of his name was unfamiliar to her, but still stirred up such a wealth of emotion that she had to fight to continue calmly. "And the boy's father is Colonel Jack O'Neill." It took more effort yet to pronounce the name correctly.  
  
It was almost worth the difficulty to see the slack-jawed amazement that appeared on the guard's face as he absorbed this information. "All right, ma'am," he said finally, "I'll see what I can do," and left, shutting the door firmly behind him.  
  
As Sha're sat there, waiting, she suddenly realized what had happened. Daniel, of course, would have been able to recognize Charlie, and the knowledge had somehow passed to her while their minds were joined by the ribbon device. This clarification was of little comfort, however.  
  
Even though she had managed to remain relatively calm for the past several minutes, Sha're could feel that combined confusion and exhaustion were very nearly about to over power her. Such a short time ago—it seemed almost inconceivable—she had been wrestling with Amaunet, trying desperately to speak to Daniel before it was too late. And then Teal'c (another name from Daniel's memory) had shot her, and moments later she'd found herself here, intact and thankfully without the Goa'uld. It was, in a way, almost anticlimactic.  
  
Then again, it wasn't such a short time ago, whatever she might think. There was no way Sha're could possibly know how long had actually passed—but it was probably quite a while, if the soldier's reaction had been any indication. Anything could have happened in that time—anything at all. And the gods (if they existed) only knew how much her son had grown by now, if he was even still alive.  
  
The small room was well heated, but Sha're began to tremble, hugging herself tightly and hoping desperately for the best.  
  
-----  
  
Charlie was, to put it mildly, terrified. He had been plucked, with no warning whatsoever, out of his parent's bedroom (was this some sort of punishment for going through his dad's stuff?) and ended up here, with some weird evil-sounding woman talking to him in his head. She'd said he could see his dad, but instead he'd gotten grabbed by a couple of airmen who had locked him in here. Probably thought he was a spy or something.  
  
He hadn't meant to do anything wrong, really. All he'd wanted to do was have a look at his dad's gun, which was by far the coolest thing in the house. Charlie was quite certain he didn't deserve to be here. And he knew exactly what "here" was, too; he'd seen plenty of sci-fi movies. With the weird voice, there was only one possibility: he was on a flying saucer. These people were, of course, really aliens in disguise, and more would be coming any minute to take him away for experiments. Sure, they could try telling him he was dead, but that was just crazy nonsense. Charlie wasn't fooled.  
  
And he'd forgotten to do his homework first, which was going to get him into even more trouble when (if ever) he got back home.  
  
With these comforting thoughts in mind, Charlie huddled miserably in a corner of the room to which he'd been confined. He remained there, motionless, right up until an alien who looked remarkably like his father (but couldn't be, way too old) came into the room, took one look at him, and asked loudly, "Okay, what kind of a sick joke is this?"  
  
Charlie perked up hopefully. Maybe he was too young to be experimented on and they'd send him home instead.  
  
He felt sorry for the woman he'd met before, who had obviously believed every word the aliens fed her and who would probably make a perfect subject.  
  
-----  
  
Just next door, the door to another holding room opened, and Sha're looked up and let out an audible gasp as her husband entered the room. Their eyes met, and Daniel's glasses—which he had been absently fiddling with on the way in—dropped from his hands and smashed on the concrete floor. 


	2. Jack and Daniel

TITLE: The Sought Ones  
  
SEQUEL: to "The Lost Ones"  
  
AUTHOR: Cyn(di)  
  
EMAIL: custardpringle@yahoo.com  
  
RATING: PG—language  
  
CATEGORY: supernatural, romance, drama, angst  
  
SUMMARY: They were supposed to be gone forever. But "forever" is a very relative thing.  
  
SPOILERS: I'm pretending "Heroes" and "Lost City" never happened, but anything else is fair game.  
  
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Oy. That's all I can possibly say about this story: oy. Deal with it.  
  
--------------------------------------------------  
  
Jack, or the alien impersonating him, pointed a quivering finger at his frightened son. "You," he said unequivocally, "should not be here, whoever you are, and I recommend you go back where you came from. My ex-wife and I have had quite enough trouble already with someone— something—impersonating our son. Charlie is most undoubtedly dead, and has been for quite some time, and there's nothing much that can be done about it at this point. So if you could just leave us the hell alone, it would be supremely appreciated."  
  
Charlie shrank further back into his corner, something he wouldn't have thought possible a minute ago, and tried to sort through the confusion. Ex- wife? If Charlie knew anything at all, it was that his parents weren't divorced, he wasn't dead, and his dad was most definitely nowhere near this old. These aliens must think he was really, really dumb. Unfortunately, none of this quite made it out of his mouth; all he could manage to squeak out was, "My dad says swearing is bad . . . he still does it, though." Charlie giggled nervously. "But only when he thinks I'm not listening."  
  
"Well," the alien said in obvious relief, "at least you've managed to fathom that you're not, in fact, my son. Now if you'd like to tell me who you and your friend next door actually are, and what exactly you want with me and my friend, we can really get somewhere."  
  
Sensing the slight lowering of tension, Charlie looked up and smiled slightly, for the first time contemplating the possibility of safe return home. "'Course I'm not your son," he said cheerfully, determined not to give away any more information than necessary. "You're an alien, and I'm human, so we can't be related. Besides," he added as an afterthought, "you're some of the stupidest aliens I've ever heard of. So it's good you're not my dad."  
  
It the alien's turn to be confused (although this was evidently not too rare a situation) and he blinked hard several times as if it would somehow help him work out what the boy had just said. "I'm sorry . . . would you mind running that by me again?"  
  
-----  
  
Sha're looked at the shattered glass on the floor in front of her, and then back up at Daniel's face, wondering suddenly what she could possibly say to explain. Remembering how so recently (was it?) Amaunet had poured so much hate into him, she found she was nearly as astounded to see him alive as he was to see her.  
  
Daniel too was speechless with disbelief as he collapsed into a seated position on the floor, automatically fumbling over the floor around him without taking his eyes away from hers. "This can't be happening," he whispered finally. "Am I dreaming, Sha're?"  
  
"No, my love," she assured him. "You are not."  
  
"But you can't be her, you can't." Concluding the glasses to be a lost cause, Daniel buried his face in his hands, but she could still hear the sob in his voice. "My wife died a long time ago," he said almost inaudibly, "and she's never coming back."  
  
Her own eyes brimming over, Sha're went to him then, knelt down next to him and gently peeled his hands away, holding them tightly in her own. "Your wife is not dead, Dan'yer. She is right here, in front of you."  
  
He looked up and met her eyes again, and this time they simply held each other's gazes for a long time, drinking each other in. "How?" he finally asked huskily.  
  
"I do not know," she answered truthfully. "But I do know one thing: the demon is gone from me."  
  
Daniel smiled briefly, and she wondered how long it had been since she had seen him smile. Far too long, certainly. "That's great."  
  
"I thought she had killed you," Sha're told him miserably. "I saw you lying next to me, and you were so still . . ." She took a deep breath. "And then I found myself here, with Jack's son."  
  
"It's okay," Daniel said gently, reaching up to touch the single tear running down her cheek. She instinctively leaned into the caress, enjoying the warmth of his palm against her skin. "We're together now. And I love you."  
  
"And I love you," Sha're answered, and at long last lowered her lips to his.  
  
Reluctantly breaking the kiss after some time, she finally asked the question that had been troubling her: "Dan'yer, how long have I been gone?"  
  
Daniel swallowed hard. "Four years."  
  
Four years. And they'd only even been married for three. "And you never . . ." She trailed off, afraid of the answer.  
  
Daniel shook his head. "I tried at first," he admitted. "But none of them could ever come close to you. So I just resigned myself to being lonely the rest of my life."  
  
"Fortunately," Sha're said, kissing him briefly, "it would seem that you were wrong." Then another question presented itself: "But what of my son? Has something happened to him?" And she'd tried so hard to keep the boy safe . . .  
  
"Shifu's fine," Daniel assured her. "Nothing's happened to him, although that's not for lack of trying."  
  
"You found him? He's with you?"  
  
"Not exactly." Daniel bit his lip. "I did find him on Kheb, but I left him with Oma; he seemed to be much safer there than with me."  
  
"I would like to see him," Sha're said wistfully  
  
"That can be arranged," Daniel said decisively. He stood up, and Sha're followed suit. "But first, I think we'd better get you to the infirmary and make sure you're all right."  
  
"I'm all right," Sha're said firmly.  
  
"Really?" The glint in his eye was unmistakable. "Prove it."  
  
The kiss that followed was, if possible, even deeper and more passionate than the first.  
  
-----  
  
"Aw, come on," Charlie said in exasperation. "You don't even know what species you come from?"  
  
"Apparently not," the alien sighed. "Please, enlighten me."  
  
"I'm human," the boy repeated slowly, making sure every word was understood. "So is my dad. And you look like him, or you're trying to, but he's not that old. So you must be an alien, and a really dumb alien too if you think you can trick me into anything. So," he was gaining confidence by the second, "maybe you should just send me home. I won't tell anyone about this, I swear."  
  
The alien, who seemed to have missed the crucial last two sentences, frowned. "See, this is where we differ. Last time I checked, I was the human in this room, and you were the one impersonating a family member."  
  
Charlie groaned in exasperation. "If I was pretending to be someone else, which I'm not, I think I'm doing a much better job than you. At least I'm the right age. Which you aren't."  
  
"Of course I'm the right age," the alien snapped. "Seeing as I'm me, and you're, well, not you, that's pretty much to be expected, wouldn't you think?"  
  
Despite his best efforts, Charlie found himself confused again. "How can I not be me?"  
  
"Well—" the alien coughed shamefacedly—"you're you, of course. I meant to say that you're not who you're pretending to be. And, by the way, I'm still waiting to find out who you really are. See, trying to convince me my son's come back from the dead is bad enough. But you seem to have brought my best friend's wife back with you, and he's just trusting enough to fall for it. So if you'll just tell me what you are, why you're here, and what you hope to accomplish by this supremely ridiculous plan, we can send you right back where you came from and just drop the whole business, okay?"  
  
Now this was just too much. "I'm human," Charlie protested, standing up and folding his arms across his chest. "But I'm too young to experiment on. So you might as well send me back before my dad comes home, and nobody will even notice."  
  
"Who said anything about experiments? All you've gotta do is answer a couple questions."  
  
"You're aliens, right? So that's what you do. You beam up people and experiment on them. Like you're going to do to me. And that other woman."  
  
"Nobody's going to get experimented on, okay? Look, I'm getting really sick of repeating this. You just tell me who you really are, and we'll kindly allow you to leave and not come back."  
  
"Fine," Charlie said exasperatedly. "I'm Charles O'Neill, and definitely human, and my dad is Jonathan O'Neill, USAF—which means he can kick your butt. Can I go home now?"  
  
The alien's eyes widened in shock. "You're not making this up, are you?"  
  
"Why would I?" This alien was a darn good actor, however dumb it might be . . . unless it was neither. Charlie gaped up at his visitor as a sudden revelation struck him. "And you're not an alien either, are you?"  
  
Jack crouched down and hugged his son. "I was wondering when you'd figure that out." 


	3. Charlie and Jack

TITLE: The Sought Ones  
  
SEQUEL: to "The Lost Ones"  
  
AUTHOR: Cyn(di)  
  
EMAIL: custardpringle@yahoo.com  
  
RATING: PG—language  
  
CATEGORY: supernatural, romance, drama, angst  
  
SUMMARY: They were supposed to be gone forever. But "forever" is a very relative thing.  
  
SPOILERS: I'm pretending "Heroes" and "Lost City" never happened, but anything else is fair game.  
  
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Switching to Jack's POV now—it's easier for me than Charlie's.  
  
Haven't had to say this in a while, but please review. It makes me happy. And remember, I do control this story. So if you like the characters, keep me happy.  
  
Betaed by Frisha and LE McMurray, both of whom I love dearly. Scottish people rock:)  
  
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Jack embraced his son tightly, hardly daring to let go for fear the boy would disappear again, until Charlie finally protested that he couldn't breathe. They separated reluctantly, and Jack opened and closed his mouth several times, trying to find something reasonably coherent to say. In the end, he settled on, "What happened to you?"  
  
"I was at home," Charlie said vaguely. "And then I was here, and I just kind of found my way to this office."  
  
"You were at home," Jack repeated. "Where?"  
  
The boy gulped shamefacedly. "In your room."  
  
Oh, no. This was going to be even harder than he'd thought. "Charlie, were you playing with my gun by any chance?"  
  
Charlie lowered his eyes. "I just wanted to look at it, honest. The drawer was unlocked."  
  
"And then you just wanted to have a look down the barrel . . ." Jack muttered, half to himself.  
  
"How'd you know?" Charlie gawked in awe.  
  
"How can I not?" Jack responded, more savagely than he'd intended.  
  
Charlie took a step back. "I'm sorry," he mumbled earnestly. "I'm sorry, Dad, really I am, I promise I'll never do it again . . ."  
  
It was impossible to stay angry with the kid. Jack closed his eyes, wondering how on earth he was going to explain what had happened ten years ago. "I know," he said finally, in a barely audible croak, "because I was the one who found you about thirty seconds later."  
  
"Found me?" Charlie said in confusion. "But you weren't even home yet—" His features suddenly froze in a look of terrified comprehension, a look that Jack was sure should never have crossed the face of someone that young. "It went off? I—" he struggled with the last word—"died? I thought you were just making that up . . ."  
  
Jack bit his lip and nodded. "Ten years ago." Why would he ever make up something like that?  
  
"Oh, no." Charlie looked up again. Jack could see his own genetic influence kicking in as the boy's horror changed to sheepishness. "My homework's ten years late. Mrs. Gerencher's going to be really mad at me, isn't she?"  
  
Jack smiled at his son, glad to see that the full import of the situation hadn't struck yet, or at least had bounced off. It would hit eventually, but fortunately not just yet. "I'm sure she understands," he said soothingly.  
  
Charlie didn't answer; his forehead was creased in thought. "Do you know the woman?" he asked.  
  
What woman? Jack nearly asked, and then remembered what he'd momentarily forgotten: the bewildered airman who had come running into his office had reported encountering not only Charlie but Sha're as well.  
  
Charlie was still waiting for an answer. "Dad? Are you okay?"  
  
He shook himself. "Yeah, I'm fine." Jack reached automatically for the phone, meaning to call Daniel, but then thought better of it; he was probably already in the room next door. "I do know her," he explained. "Her husband's a really good friend of mine. He'll be really happy to see her. At least as happy as I am to see you, in fact."  
  
"Cool." Charlie grinned. "Can we go see them? I liked her; she was really nice."  
  
"Don't think so," Jack said. In response to his son's automatic pout, he added, "I think they might want to spend some time with each other first. There is another friend of mine we can go visit, though."  
  
"Who?"  
  
"My good friend Doc Fraiser." Jack stood up and shoved Charlie back out the door in front of him before the boy could protest.  
  
Charlie objected anyway. "I'm just fine. Really. I don't need to see the doctor."  
  
"Don't worry," Jack informed him cheerfully. "The doc'll be really nice to you as long as you're nice to her."  
  
The expected question came right on cue. "What if I'm not nice to her?"  
  
Jack grimaced at some particularly painful memories. "Let's just say she's got some very big needles hidden away in her office."  
  
"Ouch." Charlie looked up and laughed at the expression on Jack's face. "Guess you'll be nicer to her next time."  
  
Mystified airmen, many of whom had never known that Jack had even ever been married, stared after the pair as they headed down the corridor. Jack didn't particularly care. Let them wonder.  
  
The important thing was that he had his son back.  
  
-----  
  
SG-5 and SG-9 had just returned from a disastrous mission, and it was obvious that Janet had her hands full already when Jack and Charlie arrived. Charlie was more than happy to wait, so they took a couple of chairs as far out of the way as possible.  
  
Fifteen minutes later, the two O'Neills were still waiting when two more people joined them, looking very happy indeed. Charlie looked up at them, smiled when he recognized Sha're, and immediately started talking, getting as far as "Were you really—" before a hand was firmly clamped over his mouth.  
  
"He inherited my sense of tact," Jack said apologetically.  
  
"What tact?" Daniel asked automatically, staring at the boy seated next to him. "Jack, is this really who I think it is?"  
  
"As far as I can tell. This is my son Charlie," Jack said solemnly by way of introduction. "And, Charlie, these are my friends Daniel and Sha're. Ah, ah, ah—" Charlie's mouth was opening again—"don't ask about it. It's rather a sensitive subject."  
  
Sha're, now dressed in borrowed BDUs rather than Amaunet's dress, pulled a chair over so that she could sit closer to Daniel and converse more easily. "I'm glad to see you found your father," she told Charlie, adding, "It is good to see you again, Jack."  
  
"Nice to see you, too," he responded, hugging her. "But not as nice as it is for Daniel, I'm sure."  
  
Sha're burst out laughing. "As am I," she said mischievously.  
  
Daniel was making a point of not listening, but blushed slightly anyhow. "This could have happened to other people who haven't been caught," he commented.  
  
"I was wondering that myself," Jack said thoughtfully. "Kawalsky could be somewhere around here, for all we know."  
  
"He's dead, too?" Charlie interrupted, suddenly wide-eyed in fear—he'd known Kawalsky as his whole life. "What about Mom?"  
  
"She's fine," Jack said quickly. "You can probably see her pretty soon, okay?"  
  
"All right." Charlie fell silent again.  
  
"For all we know," Jack said with a shiver of apprehension, "Hathor could be back too."  
  
Daniel hastily executed an arcane gesture that was no doubt intended to ward off evil. "Let's hope not. Only worse I could think of would be Anubis."  
  
"But Anubis isn't dead," Sha're said in puzzlement. "He was only banished."  
  
"He came back," Daniel said quietly. "But he's definitely dead now."  
  
Sensing but not understanding the anguish in her husband's voice, Sha're reached over and touched his hand. Daniel wrapped his fingers tightly around hers.  
  
"I'd better call Carter," Jack said, hastily changing the subject; he remembered all too well what it had taken for Daniel to kill Anubis. "Do you two think you can handle this kid for a minute?"  
  
"I doubt it," Sha're said seriously.  
  
"It's not that hard. C'mon."  
  
"He's related to you, Jack," Daniel reminded him pointedly, but he was already heading towards the telephone.  
  
Sam was in her lab, of course, because Sam was always in her lab, and she picked up the phone on the first ring. "Major Carter here."  
  
"Carter!" Jack exclaimed happily. "Can I ask you a personal question?"  
  
"Sir . . ." she said cautiously. "Are you all right?"  
  
"I hope so."  
  
A resigned sigh echoed over the line. "All right, sir, what is it?"  
  
"Carter, you wouldn't happen to have Martouf hidden in there somewhere, would you?"  
  
"If this is one of your jokes, Colonel, it's a damn poor one," Sam said angrily. "You know quite well Martouf's been dead for three years."  
  
"True," Jack admitted. "But then again, I also know quite well that Daniel's wife has been dead for four years, and my son's been dead for ten, and yet I'm standing here in the infirmary looking over across the room and I think if I leave Charlie alone with Daniel and Sha're any longer they're going to adopt him. So if you'll excuse me, Major, I'm going to have to cut this conversation short." He gave the stunned silence on the other end of the line thirty seconds to break. When it didn't, he simply hung up on it and walked back over to the others.  
  
"Congratulate me," Jack announced proudly. "I think I've finally managed to find a way to shut Carter up."  
  
Catching the end of this sentence as she approached, Janet applauded sarcastically, but froze and did a double take—several, in fact—when she saw to whom he was speaking. 


	4. Daniel and Sha're

TITLE: The Sought Ones  
  
SEQUEL: to "The Lost Ones"  
  
AUTHOR: Cyn(di)  
  
EMAIL: custardpringle@yahoo.com  
  
RATING: PG-13—language, sexual situations (not graphic by any stretch of the imagination), adult themes. More coming later.  
  
CATEGORY: supernatural, romance, drama, angst  
  
SUMMARY: They were supposed to be gone forever. But "forever" is a very relative thing.  
  
SPOILERS: I'm pretending "Heroes" and "Lost City" never happened, but anything else is fair game.  
  
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Stargatefan14: I have no objection whatsoever to your archiving this story, just send me an email so I know exactly what that entails.  
  
BTW, I may be addicted to angst, but—believe it or not—this story actually does have a plot. It should be making an appearance eventually. Actually, it already has, but I don't think you can tell yet.  
  
Reviews make me happy and thus make the characters happy as well.  
  
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General Hammond gaped incredulously across the desk at what had to be the most unlikely grouping of people ever to grace his office. He knew Jack, Sam, and Daniel, of course, but they had some rather unexpected company: a woman whom Hammond recognized from photos as Daniel's wife, and a young boy who didn't look familiar but whom he strongly suspected was Jack's son. Sam was accompanied by no resurrected loved ones, but still looked vaguely stunned by what was going on around her.  
  
Jack kindly allowed Hammond a second to get over his shock, and then broke the silence by confirming his suspicions.  
  
"General," he announced, "I'd like you to meet my son, Charlie."  
  
The boy tossed a loose salute by way of greeting. Hammond couldn't help but smile.  
  
"And this is Sha're," Daniel hastened to add.  
  
She bowed her head solemnly. "It is an honor to meet you, General."  
  
Hammond finally managed to find his voice again. "Just what the hell is going on here, people?"  
  
"We don't know, sir," Sam said—rather unnecessarily, as it was written all over her face. "Security guards found them on one of the lower levels, detained them, and alerted Daniel and Colonel O'Neill, who have confirmed their identities."  
  
"Thank you, Major." Hammond turned to Sha're, opening his mouth to ask her a question, but was distracted by Charlie whispering something in his father's ear.  
  
Jack nodded in response. "Yes, of course you should be nice to him. Especially since he's my CO."  
  
Charlie asked another question.  
  
Jack's eyebrows shot up in mock horror. "I certainly hope not. But just because he doesn't carry giant needles, that doesn't mean you shouldn't be properly respectful to him."  
  
Daniel and Sam snickered; even Sha're, who didn't get the joke, had to stifle her amusement. Hammond himself snorted before returning to the object at hand. "Sha're, Charles, does either of you have any idea how this might have happened?"  
  
He could've sworn he caught a brief, inscrutable look flash between the two, but it was gone within an instant.  
  
"I do not know," Sha're answered. "I remember Teal'c shooting me—" she flinched at the memory—"and then I found myself here, whole and without the demon inside me."  
  
"You're sure?" Hammond asked, certain she was leaving something out.  
  
Sha're nodded.  
  
Hammond pinched the bridge of his nose, thinking. Just when he'd thought everything imaginable—and unimaginable—had happened on this base . . . "I'm assuming this hasn't happened to anyone else, because I haven't heard any other similar reports from anyone else." No one said anything, and he continued. "Still, we don't know why or how this has happened. So I'd like both of you to remain on base until this is solved. Dismissed, all of you. And congratulations," he couldn't resist adding.  
  
They all left, except Jack. (Charlie was chatting happily with the others.)  
  
Hammond looked up and saw he was still there. "Is there a problem, Jack?"  
  
"Well, sir, Charlie wants to see his mother. And I can't keep this from Sara forever." Jack smiled slightly. "She has her ways of finding things out."  
  
"You're right," Hammond agreed. "We will have to come up with some sort of an explanation for her. But I'd prefer it if we could figure out what the actual explanation is first."  
  
-----  
  
"Does General Hammond not trust us?" Sha're wondered out loud as Daniel steered her out of the commissary—where they'd attracted several stares—and down the corridor. "I understand his suspicion of me, but Charlie is only a small child. He's no threat to anyone."  
  
"Hammond doesn't suspect you of anything," Daniel explained. "He just wants to make sure he knows what's going on before he lets you and Charlie loose on an unsuspecting world."  
  
Sha're laughed. "And how long is that going to take?"  
  
"With the people on this base . . . hmm, probably about five minutes. Don't worry—" he opened a door for her—"having returned from the dead myself, I can personally testify that the rooms are very nice."  
  
Sha're walked in and looked around. The room was small, and the walls were stark metal; but the furniture was either dark wood or an excellent imitation, and the bed and chairs, with blue upholstery, looked quite comfortable. "It would seem so," she began, and then stopped suddenly as the rest of what Daniel had just said sank in. "Dan'yer . . . you died?"  
  
"Sort of." Daniel said evasively. He came in after her and closed the door behind him. "It was pretty complicated."  
  
"Tell me," Sha're insisted forcefully, sinking onto the bed and hugging her knees. "I want to know what happened."  
  
"It's a long story . . ." But Daniel came over and joined Sha're on the bed, sitting cross-legged so that she could rest her head in his lap.  
  
"Five minutes, correct?" She was only half-joking. "We have more than enough time."  
  
As it turned out, though, it was a very long story indeed, and it took Daniel the best part of half an hour to tell her, even briefly, what had happened to him over the past four years: finding Shifu on Kheb, leaving him there only to meet him again later on, and eventually dying (his description of this made her shudder) and joining the boy on a higher plane of existence, for a time—and then being forced to leave it again, with no memory at all of either life.  
  
At this point Sha're interrupted: "Why did the Ancients expel you?"  
  
Daniel took a deep breath. "I tried to stop Anubis from destroying Abydos."  
  
Sha're closed her eyes briefly, understanding. "What makes me think you failed?"  
  
"I don't know what I was thinking," Daniel said bitterly. "I tried to bargain with him. For some reason, I thought he'd keep to it. And then, when he didn't, they wouldn't let me stop him. They let everyone on the planet ascend, but then they kicked me out for trying to stop the thing in the first place."  
  
"You did your best," she said, stretching a hand up and touching his face gently.  
  
Daniel didn't seem to hear. "They regretted it soon enough when he started attacking them a month ago," he continued angrily. "Then they wanted me back."  
  
"I thought you said Anubis was dead."  
  
"He is now," said Daniel grimly, "because I killed him."  
  
Sha're twisted around to lie on her stomach so she could see him right side up. "You almost make it sound easy."  
  
He grimaced. "I wish. It's just something I try to think about as little as possible. And then—" the grimace was replaced, thankfully, by a small smile—"there was his friend Aurel, who was more annoying than anything else until she tried to kill Sam. She could be standing right in front of you and still insist on speaking in your mind. I don't know what happened to her."  
  
Remembering the voice of whatever had deposited her in the storage room, Sha're shuddered, wondering suddenly whether Aurel might in fact be responsible for her presence. It was not a particularly encouraging thought.  
  
Seeing her unease, Daniel reached over and cupped her face in his hands. "Sha're, are you all right?"  
  
Was she? "Oh, Dan'yer," she said softly, and suddenly she was in his arms, kissing him deeply again and again, and the world was beautiful once more.  
  
-----  
  
They slept in each other's arms that night, for the first time in what seemed like (and very nearly had been) forever.  
  
Sha're was not entirely surprised when, nearly the instant she fell asleep, she found herself back in the tent on Abydos where she had lived until Apophis came; she dreamt about it often. However, there was a young man—nearly a boy still—there this time; she didn't recognize him, although she thought he looked vaguely like Skaara. Then he smiled widely and said, "Hello, Mother."  
  
Sha're's jaw dropped. "Shifu . . ." she whispered. "But you were born only a year ago."  
  
"Five years, as Daniel sees them," he corrected, hugging her tightly. "For me, nearly twenty-five."  
  
"And what of your father?" a very familiar voice asked from behind them. Sha're turned to see that her father and brother were also with them in the tent, and exchanged warm embraces with them as well.  
  
At last, just when she had finally given up hope and been ready to die, she was home again. 


	5. Kasuf and Oma

TITLE: The Sought Ones  
  
SEQUEL: to "The Lost Ones"  
  
AUTHOR: Cyn(di)  
  
EMAIL: custardpringle@yahoo.com  
  
RATING: PG-13—language, sexual situations, adult themes. More coming later.  
  
CATEGORY: supernatural, romance, drama, angst  
  
SUMMARY: They were supposed to be gone forever. But "forever" is a very relative thing.  
  
SPOILERS: I'm pretending "Heroes" and "Lost City" never happened, but anything else is fair game.  
  
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Wow: a plot. Who'd a thunk it. Well, Frisha and LE McMurray would've, but that's cuz they beta this and get to see everything first. Which reminds me: if anyone wants a beta, I'm willing to help out. Just email me. And use a really obvious subject line like "I worship the ground you tread on, please please beta me," so I'll know you're not a spammer.  
  
I'm reloading this chapter because I accidentally left in a note to my betas last time. Normally I don't admit weakness in front of the rest of you.  
  
--------------------------------------------------  
  
"Father," Sha're said two nights later, "I am worried about Dan'yer."  
  
"Why?" Kasuf responded. "I am quite certain that Dan'yer can take care of himself."  
  
She stiffened. "Do you think I don't know that?"  
  
The others said nothing.  
  
"He has changed," Sha're continued hesitantly. "I cannot say how, precisely. I thought he would be different, of course—but not like this. He seems so distant at times."  
  
"Dan'yer has been alone for four years," Skaara pointed out.  
  
"And he has grown used to it," Shifu continued seamlessly. "Daniel is accustomed now to bottling himself up and excluding others, and the fight with Anubis only made that worse."  
  
"What happened then?" Sha're wondered. "Dan'yer will not speak of it to me beyond the fact of Anubis' death."  
  
Her brother smiled sourly. "We ourselves know next to nothing; it took place on a plane we could not see. Oma Desala has asked what Anubis did to him, but he refuses to say anything even to her."  
  
"But what am I going to do?" she asked desperately. "Dan'yer is my husband. Should I simply leave someone I love so much in such terrible pain?"  
  
"Give him time," Kasuf told her gravely. "Whatever happened with Anubis, he cannot keep it to himself forever."  
  
Shifu sighed. "Daniel wants to protect you, Mother."  
  
Sha're snorted. "From what? After the last two years, is there much left from which it would do any good to protect me?"  
  
Her father nodded. "There is. And Dan'yer knows it far too well. His clearest memories of you, unfortunately, are as host to a Goa'uld, and he is doing his best to shield you from further pain."  
  
"And I only want to help him with his," Sha're said somberly. "But he won't let me."  
  
She turned to leave the tent, wanting to get some proper sleep, but Kasuf called after her. "Sha're—"  
  
She stopped. "Yes, Father?"  
  
"There is one thing we do know, the last thing Anubis did before his death. Jack managed to convince Dan'yer to tell him at least that much."  
  
"And?" Sha're demanded in anxious expectation.  
  
"Anubis convinced him that your abduction and death were his own fault."  
  
"And we think that was only a small part of what happened," Skaara added unhelpfully.  
  
Sha're was speechless.  
  
"Do you see now?" Shifu said gently. "That is the kind of thing Daniel is trying to keep from you."  
  
-----  
  
Lying in bed next to Sha're, Daniel was also dreaming, and his dreams were scarcely more comforting than were his wife's.  
  
He was in his office this time, seated behind his desk. Interestingly enough, Oma Desala was also sitting at a desk, one placed across the room in such a way that both places' occupants could easily communicate with one another. Daniel could only assume Oma had chosen to place it there for that reason, since such a desk did not exist in reality; his was the only one in the room.  
  
No sooner had he resolved this relatively minor point than Oma began to speak—unusually brusquely, without even her customary polite greeting. "Daniel, we need to talk about Sha're."  
  
As she had no doubt intended, Daniel snapped immediately to attention and turned to face her. "What about her?" he asked, sounding a little more defensive than he had meant to.  
  
Oma leaned forward across her desk. "I believe you know to what I am referring," she said patiently. "Your wife's mysterious return from the dead has been most surprising for us."  
  
"Surprising," Daniel repeated. Understatement of the century, most likely. "Somehow, I don't think it surprised you in quite the same way it surprised me."  
  
Oma nodded. "You are correct; it did not. While you both are certainly to be congratulated—" Daniel half-smiled in acknowledgement—"there are other ramifications that must be taken into account."  
  
"We're working on it," Daniel said promptly, anticipating what she was about to say. "I mean, there's no record I can find of people returning from the dead, barring the use of a sarcophagus or an Ancient taking human form. But there's got to be something about it somewhere, right?"  
  
"To my knowledge," Oma admitted, "there is not."  
  
"Oma, what are you not telling me?" Daniel stared at her in astonishment.  
  
"Nothing of this sort has ever happened before," she clarified, "at least not in my memory. But I believe I can at least guess at what—or who—brought about the restoration of Sha're and of Charles O'Neill."  
  
He spread his hands. "Open to suggestions here."  
  
"I have reason to believe Aurel was responsible," Oma said simply. "Beyond that, I can tell you nothing."  
  
"Now wait a second here." Daniel stabbed a finger at her. "I thought you said you would be able to deal with her—and I quote—'with little difficulty.' What happened?"  
  
"Aurel has demonstrated an unanticipated degree of skill in evading us," she admitted reluctantly. "Her capture is proving far more difficult than we expected."  
  
"She is good at hiding," he conceded. "So right now, you have no idea where Aurel is or what she's doing?"  
  
Oma sighed. "None whatsoever."  
  
Daniel stayed silent a minute, thinking, and finally asked, "So what do I do? I mean—"he hesitated— "well, does that mean Sha're and Charlie are dangerous?"  
  
"Most likely not," Oma assured him. "Shifu, Kasuf, and Skaara have all spoken with your wife, and they are certain she is quite innocent. Whatever Aurel's purpose may have been in her restoration, Sha're is not aware of it."  
  
"What about Charlie? You don't seem to be saying much about him." Daniel left the rest of the thought unspoken: I don't know what would happen to Jack if he lost his son again.  
  
"You need not worry," Oma said, almost as if she had heard what he was thinking. "I am quite certain the boy is not a threat."  
  
"And you were also certain that you could catch Aurel easily," Daniel snapped. "Believe me, I'd love to think that, but what makes you so sure?"  
  
"When Aurel brought back your wife," Oma explained, "the shock from it was so powerful that we all felt it and knew what was happening—something she most likely did not intend. We think she misjudged the amount of power necessary. For some reason, the excess simply jumped from Sha're into someone else—who, by pure chance as far as I know, turned out to be Jack's son."  
  
"So Charlie isn't supposed to exist?" Daniel repeated dubiously. "He's just an accident?"  
  
"No," Oma said emphatically. "No one could just exist without a purpose. The boy has one; it simply is not one given to him by Aurel, while Sha're exists partially to fulfill Aurel's ends."  
  
"Only partially?" Daniel grimaced. "That's a comforting thought, anyway."  
  
Now how the hell was he going to go about explaining this to everyone else?  
  
The usual way, in all likelihood: a nice long briefing, to make sure Jack caught up on his beauty sleep. Although, somehow, Daniel didn't think he'd be sleeping through this.  
  
-----  
  
He went to see General Hammond first thing next morning, worrying the whole time about how to phrase this. Hammond was already concerned by the fact that two long-dead people had inexplicably appeared, alive and whole, in his base; the revelation that Anubis' former second in command was responsible was most likely not going to improve his mood much.  
  
Nevertheless, it had to be dealt with, and he walked right into the office. "General, can I have a minute?"  
  
"Of course, Dr. Jackson," Hammond greeted him. "How's your wife doing?"  
  
Daniel smiled briefly. "Sha're's fine . . . but I need to talk to you about her. I think I may have just found out why she and Charlie are here. And, General—" he bit his lip—"I don't think you're going to like it." He then repeated his entire conversation with Oma from the night before.  
  
As the story progressed, Hammond's face darkened visibly. "Any recommendations, Doctor?" he asked when Daniel had finished.  
  
"Not right now," Daniel told him. "I'd like to do some more research into this first. We've always assumed Aurel was simply a servant of Anubis, and it never occurred to me to look her up as an independent entity. If I can find more information about her, that might help clarify what's going on."  
  
"Sounds good," Hammond decided. "Teal'c will be offworld visiting Ry'ac for another three days. At the end of that time, I want you to have a report ready for me and the rest of SG-1." 


	6. George and Aurel

TITLE: The Sought Ones  
  
SEQUEL: to "The Lost Ones"  
  
AUTHOR: Cyn(di)  
  
EMAIL: custardpringle@yahoo.com  
  
RATING: PG-13—language, sexual situations, adult themes. More coming later.  
  
CATEGORY: supernatural, romance, drama, angst  
  
SUMMARY: They were supposed to be gone forever. But "forever" is a very relative thing.  
  
SPOILERS: I'm pretending "Heroes" and "Lost City" never happened, but anything else is fair game.  
  
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I'm starting to be pretty certain that this won't be as long as "The Lost Ones." Sorry if this disappoints anyone, although from the number of reviews I'm getting I'm not sure whether anyone cares.  
  
I'm not a linguist, but to my knowledge the etymologies referenced in this chapter are—if somewhat unorthodox—perfectly sound. The aur- root means gold in Latin and hearing in Greek, and is the future stem of the verb to have (avoir) in French.  
  
--------------------------------------------------  
  
There were six at the table this time, rather than the usual five; Sha're had insisted on joining the briefing, pointing out that it was, after all, her fate that was under discussion. Charlie had been temporarily locked in his room, along with a television and a PlayStation to keep him from noticing.  
  
"Well, Dr. Jackson," Hammond asked, "what have you been able to find out?"  
  
"Not a heck of a lot," Daniel admitted, "at least not beyond what Oma Desala told me."  
  
"You've been talking to Oma again?" Jack groaned. "Daniel, please, please tell me she isn't trying to yank you into another war. Once was bad enough."  
  
"To our knowledge, there is no actual war this time," Sha're explained. "And it is Aurel who is doing the pulling, not Oma Desala."  
  
Hammond glanced at her, then back at Daniel. "The two of you have been working together to research this?"  
  
Repressing a smile of pleasure at having been able to work alongside her husband, Sha're nodded along with Daniel.  
  
"Look," said Sam impatiently, "Teal'c, the colonel, and I are still in the dark here. Could you please just tell us what's going on?"  
  
"Yeah, of course." Daniel began fidgeting with his pen, his free hand clasping Sha're's under the table as he repeated for the third time his conversation with Oma.  
  
"Wow," said Jack when Daniel had finished. "Fun."  
  
"I'll say," Sam agreed sardonically.  
  
Teal'c said nothing. Sha're noticed that he was looking at her oddly, and made a mental note that she would have to speak to him soon; her reappearance was no doubt stirring up his old guilt over what had happened to her.  
  
"So," Hammond repeated, breaking the momentary silence, "what else have you found out?"  
  
Daniel made a face. "Like I said: not much. I looked up the meaning of the name 'Aurel,' though, and that produced something interesting."  
  
"'Aurel' can have several meanings," Sha're picked up. "But the most commonly used is 'she who is golden.'"  
  
Hammond squinted at them in disbelief. "You're joking, right?"  
  
"Crap." Jack shook his head. "Her parents must've had really bad judgment."  
  
"Perhaps," Teal'c offered thoughtfully, "Aurel gave herself that name by way of jest."  
  
Jack gestured in the Jaffa's direction. "The resident master of humor has spoken."  
  
Teal'c raised an eyebrow in acknowledgement of the compliment.  
  
"We are not joking," Sha're said regretfully, "although Aurel might have been, if Teal'c is correct."  
  
"But, like Sha're said," Daniel continued, "'she who is golden' is only the most common translation. The name could also mean 'she who hears' or 'she who will have.'"  
  
"And either could work," Sam interrupted.  
  
"Right," Daniel confirmed. "But from our previous experiences with her, my guess would be that it means 'she who hears.' Of course, if Aurel is she who will have, then—" he nodded at Sha're—"we need to figure out what it is she's going to have."  
  
"And make sure she doesn't get it," Jack finished, getting ready to stand up. "Sweet. When do we leave?"  
  
"Colonel O'Neill, sit down," said Hammond sharply. "You don't even know whether you're going anywhere yet, let alone where."  
  
"Sorry, sir." Jack plopped back into his seat. "So . . ." He looked expectantly down the table at Daniel and Sha're. "Where exactly are we going, then?"  
  
"That is one thing we do know," Sha're said in relief, and named a gate address. "There is, or used to be, a temple on that world dedicated to a being called Avel—"she who has"—who was most likely another form of Aurel."  
  
"There could be writings there that would help us," Daniel explained.  
  
Hammond nodded in satisfaction. "This sounds good so far, but is there anything else you'd like to add? It sounds to me like your information is pretty sparse."  
  
"It is," Daniel agreed. "No idea why, though. The best explanation I can think of is that Aurel, or Avel, was too minor to be worthy of record, which makes no sense."  
  
"Or," Sam suggested, "it could mean that she was so horrible that people were afraid even to write about her." A bleak silence fell, and she hurriedly raised her hands in a gesture of surrender. "Hey, it's just an idea."  
  
Jack smiled sourly. "Thanks for the cheerful thought, Carter."  
  
Teal'c raised an eyebrow at him. "Major Carter's suggestion is, if pessimistic, certainly valid."  
  
"You know what, people?" Hammond interrupted sharply. "We don't know why there's so little record of this person. Which is why I'm sending the four of you to investigate this temple tomorrow morning. You may be able to learn something useful there. Dismissed, all of you."  
  
Jack, Sam, and Teal'c got up and left. Daniel was about to follow them, but paused in the doorway upon noticing that Sha're had not left her seat.  
  
Hammond noticed as well. "Sha're, is there a problem?"  
  
"There is not." Sha're paused, then plowed on before she lost courage. "However, I would like to accompany SG-1 on their mission tomorrow." Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Daniel smiling slightly; he probably wasn't particularly surprised by her request.  
  
Hammond, however, was, and it took him a minute to answer. "I'm not sure that's the best idea," he said finally. "No offense, but to my knowledge you have no combat training, and we have no way of knowing whether this world is Goa'uld-occupied or not."  
  
Sha're met his eyes levelly. "It is true that I have no combat training. But there is nothing more important to me right now than finding out why Aurel restored me, and I think I should be able to accompany a mission with that purpose."  
  
Hammond thought a little more, and then nodded. "Very well, you may go. But proceed with caution."  
  
"Thank you." Sha're smiled and left with Daniel, who placed an arm around her waist as soon as they were out of the room.  
  
"Dan'yer," Sha're said once they were out of earshot of anyone else, "I need to talk to you about this."  
  
-----  
  
Jack decided to make a brief stop to check on his son and was astonished to find Charlie sitting up in bed, wide awake. "Something wrong?" he asked, sitting down on the edge of the bed."  
  
"Nope." Charlie shook his head. "I was waiting for you to say good night, that's all."  
  
"I was in a briefing," Jack apologized. "Won't happen again if I can help it."  
  
"All right." Satisfied, Charlie gave his dad a brief hug. "What was the briefing on?"  
  
Jack treated the boy to a mock glare. "That's classified." Upon further consideration, he added, "But it means I'm going to have to go somewhere tomorrow. So you get to spend the day in the infirmary so Janet can watch you."  
  
Charlie pouted. "I can't come with you?"  
  
"No," Jack said emphatically. "Definitely not."  
  
"Is it dangerous?"  
  
"Not dangerous. Classified, remember?"  
  
"All right," Charlie said cheerfully. "'Night, Dad. Love you."  
  
"Love you too," Jack said, and left the room, astonished that his son had acquiesced so easily to staying behind.  
  
Charlie turned over in bed, mentally running through the myriad corridors he'd learned to navigate in the past week. Wherever his dad might be going, he was confident he'd be able to sneak after him. After all, it wasn't dangerous, so it probably wouldn't be too much of a problem.  
  
-----  
  
"I'm sorry, Dan'yer," Sha're was saying anxiously as they entered her room. "I would have told you, but she asked me not to . . . besides, I was so confused at the time I thought I might have imagined it."  
  
Daniel wrapped his other arm comfortingly around her, pulling her to him. "At this point, it really doesn't make much of a difference. Honestly, Sha're, I don't think it's that big a deal."  
  
"Good." She leaned backwards into him, and Daniel tightened his grip around her waist. "Dan'yer—" Sha're's voice was nearly a whisper. "I'm afraid. I'm afraid Aurel has brought me back only to kill me again. And I don't want you to have to lose me again."  
  
"Don't worry," Daniel told her. "I'd never let that happen." But she could tell that, deep inside, he was afraid of the same thing.  
  
"I know," Sha're answered simply.  
  
Daniel said nothing in reply, but after a few seconds Sha're felt a series of light kisses on the back of her neck. Smiling again, she twisted around in his arms so he could kiss her properly. Within moments, they were totally engrossed in each other, and Aurel was—for the moment—all but forgotten. 


	7. Teal'c and Charlie

TITLE: The Sought Ones  
  
SEQUEL: to "The Lost Ones"  
  
AUTHOR: Cyn(di)  
  
EMAIL: custardpringle@yahoo.com  
  
RATING: PG-13—language, sexual situations, adult themes. More coming later.  
  
CATEGORY: supernatural, romance, drama, angst  
  
SUMMARY: They were supposed to be gone forever. But "forever" is a very relative thing.  
  
SPOILERS: I'm pretending "Heroes" and "Lost City" never happened, but anything else is fair game.  
  
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Allow me a brief spate of number crunching here, if you please.  
  
16 people have me on their alert lists. Two are my betas and email feedback to me, although one of them posts reviews as well. Two more, one of whom is a personal friend, are reviewing, as well as one other person who doesn't have me on her alerts list. So . . . where are the other dozen of you? If you think I'm doing a bad job, at least tell me what I'm doing wrong. The only reason I'm posting here at all is for the feedback, and I *will* stop if I don't think it's worthwhile.  
  
--------------------------------------------------  
  
Sha're knocked cautiously on Teal'c's door the next morning. When he opened it, she was stunned momentarily by the interior, which was filled by rows upon rows of carefully arranged candles, all burning brightly.  
  
After a second, Teal'c asked, "Did you wish to speak with me, Sha're?"  
  
"Oh—yes." Sha're shook herself slightly. "May I come in?"  
  
"Indeed you may." Teal'c stepped aside to let her through, closing the door once she had entered.  
  
"I was admiring these candles," Sha're explained briefly, still awestruck. "I have heard that the Jaffa are very spiritual people, but I expected nothing like this. Did I interrupt something?"  
  
"You did not," he assured her. "I am accustomed to meditate briefly in order to calm myself before each mission; however, I had just completed my meditation when you knocked." After a pause, Teal'c continued: "I have focused my meditations on you quite often in the past week."  
  
Sha're let out a small sigh of relief, glad that she wouldn't have to broach the subject herself. "That doesn't surprise me," she answered, "although I am sorry to hear it."  
  
Teal'c cocked his head inquiringly. "How so?"  
  
"I am sorry," Sha're elaborated, "that you're still so concerned about something which occurred four years ago. I came here to tell you that you do not need to trouble yourself with my death—that I long ago forgave you for it. I know Dan'yer has already told you that, but I felt I should talk to you in person."  
  
"I appreciate your concern," said Teal'c gravely, "and I know that neither you nor Daniel Jackson blame me for your death. Ultimately, however, that cannot take away my responsibility for what happened to you. Even though you have forgiven me, I do not think I will ever be able to forgive myself."  
  
-----  
  
Janet tried to give Charlie a reassuring smile, but he only glared unhappily. "Why do I have to stay here?"  
  
"I have to go on a mission," Jack explained for the umpteenth time. "It's just for a few hours, okay? Much shorter than usual."  
  
For the umpteenth time, Charlie nodded reluctantly, hoping he wasn't overdoing his act. "Fine."  
  
Jack gave him a brief, suspicious look, but then smiled, kneeling down and hugging him. "You're gonna be nice to the doc, right, kid?"  
  
"Of course," Charlie answered soberly. "'Bye Dad."  
  
"'Bye Charlie. Love you." Jack got up and left, tossing a grin and a quick salute back over his shoulder before vanishing out the infirmary door.  
  
The instant his dad was gone, a devilish smile flitted across Charlie's face, and he wasted no time in dashing into Janet's office. "Doctor Fraiser," he said plaintively, doing his best to look like he was in pain, "I need to go to the bathroom."  
  
"There's one just down the hall," Janet told him. "But I want you to get right back here, understood?"  
  
Charlie nodded soberly and was out into the corridor like a shot, just in time to see Jack disappearing around the corner. He followed behind, going as quickly as he could while remaining unnoticeable.  
  
The pursuit continued for several minutes, and Charlie found himself following all sorts of corridors he'd never seen before. At one point, Jack took an elevator, and Charlie nearly lost him—but fortunately the elevator ride was a relatively short one, and Charlie was able to catch up again. At that point, Jack entered a room labeled "Armory"; Charlie, recognizing the term, was content to wait outside until Jack reemerged—now accompanied by an assortment of complicated-looking equipment, as well as Daniel, Sha're, Sam, and Teal'c (which Charlie thought was a very cool name).  
  
Further down the corridor, they passed through another, larger door. Technicians were swarming around the area, but most didn't notice the small boy, and those who did recognized him but assumed he was there to see his father off. Charlie followed through the doorway and stopped, overwhelmed by what he saw inside. Even as he watched, the enormous metal ring lit up, and a massive amount of what looked like water shot out, then was sucked back in to become a smooth, rippling blue surface.  
  
Then the unthinkable happened: Jack, along with his four companions, walked through it perfectly calmly and just evaporated.  
  
Charlie gaped for a moment longer until he remembered why he was there. Without allowing himself any time for doubt, he dashed into the room and up the ramp. Years of playing baseball had given the boy an impressive ability to get from one place to another in a very short space of time, and he was through the event horizon before either the guards or General Hammond had time to react.  
  
-----  
  
"Well, this is convenient," said Jack cheerfully as they emerged from the Stargate into a large, ornate stone building. "We don't even have to walk anywhere."  
  
"Unless this is the wrong temple," Daniel pointed out, spinning around at the unexpected thud that came just before the Gate disengaged.  
  
Sha're, having been last to go through, was the first to reach Charlie's side, helping the dazed boy to his feet. "Are you all right?"  
  
"Aw, for cryin' out loud—" Jack's habitual expression of frustration was tinged with more than a trace of worry as he virtually leapt to her side. "Charlie, what on earth are you doing here?"  
  
"I wanted to come with you," Charlie answered simply, still trying to shake off the aftereffects of the wormhole.  
  
"But why?" Jack repeated. "I told you not to . . ." He trailed off, searching for better words and not finding them.  
  
"You would've been fine with Janet," Sam pointed out reasonably.  
  
"I know. But I didn't want Dad to leave me." Charlie paused, also groping for an explanation.  
  
In the ensuing few seconds of silence, Daniel's eyes suddenly widened as he realized what was happening, and he tightened his grip on Sha're's shoulder.  
  
After a long pause, Charlie looked up, his light brown eyes meeting his father's darker ones. "The last time you left," he said, as if only realizing it himself for the first time, "I died."  
  
Even Teal'c flinched at that, and Sam gasped audibly, but Jack remained frozen in place, although something flickered briefly across his face. "You should've said something, kid. I'm not exactly the most important person on this mission—I could've stayed home this time."  
  
Before anyone else could say anything, the Stargate burst into life, forcing them all to duck. A second later, static began to crackle out of Jack's radio. "Colonel O'Neill, this is General Hammond. Your son—"  
  
"I know," Jack interrupted. "Charlie's fine, although I'd like to know how a bunch of trained soldiers managed to not be able to stop an eight-year- old boy from getting through the Gate . . . with all due respect, of course, sir."  
  
"I'm wondering that myself," Hammond admitted. "Colonel, we'll be keeping the iris open once we shut down this wormhole, so you can send the boy back here."  
  
"I appreciate that, sir," Jack said. Charlie sagged visibly in disappointment. "However, I don't think that'll be necessary."  
  
Everyone else turned and stared at him in astonishment, and Hammond was apparently no exception. "Colonel," he spluttered, "are you saying you're willing to keep your son with you on this mission?"  
  
"I am, sir," answered Jack. "This isn't exactly a combat situation. If Charlie wants to come along this badly, I don't think it's a problem. This time, anyway," he added, shooting a pointed glare at the boy in question, who nodded meekly. "Just make sure Fraiser knows where he is."  
  
Hammond heaved a sigh. "If you're certain, Colonel, I guess I can't argue. But I still don't like it. Hammond out."  
  
"O'Neill out," Jack responded automatically, and the radio and the Stargate both shut down.  
  
"Wait a sec," Daniel said. "Charlie, how exactly did you get past the Gateroom guards?"  
  
Charlie shrugged. "I was lucky, I guess. And I run fast," he added with more than a hint of pride.  
  
Daniel raised his eyebrows incredulously, but nodded in understanding, not being able to think of a better explanation.  
  
A corner of Teal'c's mouth quirked upward. "It would appear that Charles O'Neill takes after his father to a quite alarming degree."  
  
Jack whirled around. "And what exactly is that supposed to mean?"  
  
"Don't worry, Jack," Sha're said reassuringly, standing up. "I suspect that was a compliment. To both of you."  
  
"Indeed it was," Teal'c confirmed.  
  
"In that case, thanks, T." Jack turned back to his wayward offspring. "And as for you, you're going to stay with us the entire time we're here, right?"  
  
Charlie smiled winningly. "Of course," he said, and meant it. As exciting as this whole thing might be, he had no intention of getting into any more trouble and risking wrecking his dad's current good mood. 


	8. Sha're and Aurel

TITLE: The Sought Ones  
  
SEQUEL TO: The Lost Ones  
  
AUTHOR: Cyn(di)  
  
EMAIL: custardpringle@yahoo.com  
  
RATING: PG-13. Language, thematic issues, sexual references, angst.  
  
CATEGORY: supernatural, drama, romance, angst  
  
SUMMARY: They were supposed to be gone forever. But "forever" is a very relative thing.  
  
SPOILERS: I'm assuming "Heroes" and "Lost City" never happened, but anything else is fair game.  
  
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Yay, go me. I've just managed to squeeze about half the plot into this one chapter. Life's just weird that way. Oh well.  
  
-------------------------------------------------  
  
A brief look around showed that the chamber containing the Stargate was relatively barren, containing only the entrance to a corridor leading outside and a token few writings in Goa'uld. These were quickly determined to say nothing more than that the temple's purpose was a mystery. However, the building also included two somewhat larger rooms whose walls were heavily decorated, albeit for the most part also in Goa'uld. After a brief discussion, it was decided that Daniel and Sha're would examine one and Teal'c the other. Sam, Jack, and Charlie remained in the first room in case someone else came in from outside.  
  
Daniel and Sha're had already separated from the group, and Teal'c was on his way out of the room when Charlie, who had worn an expression of total boredom until then, suddenly jumped up from his seat in the corner. "Teal'c, can I come with you?"  
  
Jack looked at him a moment, then shook his head. "Don't think so, kid. Last time I let you out of my sight, you ended up halfway across the galaxy."  
  
Charlie pouted and began to sit back down, dejected, but Sam cut in. "Sir, that might actually be a good idea. This is the room most vulnerable to attack. It would be much safer for Charlie if he were with Teal'c and a little more out of the way."  
  
"You have a point there, Carter." Jack bit his lip, considering. "What do you think T?"  
  
"I am in agreement with Major Carter; I believe Charles would be somewhat safer if he were to accompany me rather than remaining here with you. Further, although the boy does not know Goa'uld, it is possible that he may still be able to help me in some way."  
  
"Okay," Jack conceded reluctantly. "Go ahead, Charlie. But if you get into anything even remotely resembling trouble, I'm not gonna be a happy camper." Charlie nodded eagerly and bounded after Teal'c. Jack stared after him with a sigh.  
  
"He'll be fine, sir," Sam told him confidently. "That room's empty apart from the two of them."  
  
Jack snorted. "You don't know Charlie. He can't seem to stay out of trouble."  
  
Sam grinned. "Like his father, sir?"  
  
"Yeah. Exactly like his father. That's what frightens me."  
  
-----  
  
"That's odd," Daniel muttered, straightening up from reading a (totally useless) set of text near the floor.  
  
At the other end of the room, Sha're looked up from flipping through one of his notebooks. "What is it?"  
  
"I could've sworn I just felt a draft in here," Daniel told her, puzzled. "But that makes no sense. We're underground." He blinked a couple of times in confusion.  
  
On the second blink, he reopened his eyes and discovered a second woman standing in front of him. She was pale, and dark-haired, and wore a long plain black robe.  
  
Daniel smiled grimly; he'd recognized her immediately. "I should've guessed you'd be showing up sometime soon."  
  
"So you should," she agreed, but for once she did not seem focused on insulting him.  
  
Following her wandering gaze, Daniel saw that it settled briefly on Sha're before snapping back to him. Now beginning to be alarmed, he said sharply, "Aurel, what do you want?"  
  
Aurel was paying full attention to him now, at least for the moment. "I need to speak to your daughter," she answered cryptically. "I believe she has something I need."  
  
"My daughter," Daniel repeated, totally nonplussed. "I don't have a daughter . . . Unless—"  
  
He swung around suddenly to stare at his wife, who seemed totally unaware of what was going on. His glance flicked briefly down to her abdomen, and then returned to Aurel, who was smirking slightly.  
  
Daniel's jaw dropped. "Oh," he said, very weakly.  
  
"Exactly," confirmed Aurel, who was quite obviously enjoying herself. "And she is extremely important to me."  
  
Daniel's shock disappeared, swiftly replaced by anger. "She's also extremely important to me."  
  
"I know," Aurel chuckled. "Which is exactly why you're going to let me take what I want—not that you could do anything about it, in any case."  
  
"Explain yourself," Daniel demanded furiously.  
  
"It's complicated," Aurel told him dismissively. "You don't need to know the whole story. All you need to know is that a part of me is contained in your daughter. It is a small part, but it is immensely powerful, and unless I reclaim it, it will kill her."  
  
Daniel shook his head suspiciously. "Why should I believe you?"  
  
"Have I ever lied to you?"  
  
"No," Daniel admitted. "You haven't."  
  
Sha're looked over at him then, and from her horrified gasp it was clear that she was now aware of Aurel's presence. "Dan'yer, what's happening?"  
  
Daniel groaned and tried to find a way to answer. "A lot."  
  
Aurel disappeared, reappearing almost instantly at the other end of the hall and locking eyes with Sha're. Daniel couldn't hear either of them speaking, but he was pretty certain Aurel was repeating the same account she had given him.  
  
As Daniel was walking over to join them, Jack appeared in the doorway. "How's it going everyone?" He did a double take. "Daniel, who is this person? I don't think you've introduced us."  
  
"You're just lucky then," Daniel told him wearily. "That would be Aurel."  
  
"What's she doing here?" Jack asked.  
  
Daniel explained.  
  
"Fun," Jack observed. "Well, congratulations on the pregnancy, anyway."  
  
"Thanks," said Daniel ruefully. "Assuming Aurel is telling the truth, of course."  
  
Jack glanced over at him soberly. "If she wasn't, she wouldn't be here. I'd say, since we can't exactly do anything to stop her from doing whatever the hell she wants, it's probably safest to stay out of her way and hope for the best."  
  
About to answer, Daniel was distracted by the realization that the conversation between Aurel and Sha're appeared to have come to some sort of conclusion. Aurel was looking thoroughly pleased with herself, while Sha're only looked resigned—and terrified.  
  
Even as the two men watched, Aurel placed both her hands carefully on Sha're's stomach. They passed right through the fabric of her shirt, resting ultimately on the bare skin underneath.  
  
Daniel tensed, but found that he was wholly unable to move. *Just in case,* Aurel's voice said in his mind, with a hint of amusement.  
  
There was a brief, silent pause.  
  
Then a nearly blinding silvery light began to grow between the two women, flowing out of Sha're and into Aurel's hands. Aurel was curiously relaxed, her eyes closed, while Sha're's were wide open; she looked totally overwhelmed by whatever was happening.  
  
It only lasted a moment.  
  
Then Aurel disappeared, leaving Sha're standing there on her own, swaying wildly as if she would fall over any second. "Dan'yer—" she whispered faintly, and, abandoning all dignity, burst into tears.  
  
Daniel was at her side in an instant, helping her regain her balance. "Shh, my love," he murmured, burying his face in her hair. "It's all right, Sha're, it's all right."  
  
Which it wasn't, of course, because it never is.  
  
Jack was just beginning to shift uneasily from one foot to the other, wondering whether to join the hug or make a subtle exit and leave them alone, when Teal'c's bellow of "O'Neill!" echoed through the building, leaving no chance for either comfort or subtlety. And there was an unusual, awful tone in the Jaffa's voice—  
  
"Oh, God. Charlie . . ." Jack was out of the room like a shot, leaving Daniel and Sha're to trail behind him.  
  
Once at the other end of the temple, he stopped just as abruptly, petrified in shock at the sight that greeted him.  
  
Teal'c was standing in the center of the room, somehow radiating alarm and bewilderment without any contortion of his facial muscles. And Charlie—well, Charlie was in a small, limp, motionless heap on the corner, unconscious. Sam was crouched on the ground next to the boy, unsuccessfully trying to revive him.  
  
"What happened, Teal'c?" asked Daniel quietly.  
  
"I do not know. Charles informed me that he had discovered something of interest—a secret panel, I believe—but I was otherwise occupied for several seconds afterwards, and by the time I turned to join him he was as you see him now."  
  
Jack had crossed the room and dropped to his knees alongside Sam. "C'mon, kid," he said gently, and then somewhat more forcefully: "Wake up, Charlie."  
  
This finally elicited a response: Charlie stirred slightly and groaned. "Dad?" he asked nearly inaudibly, and his eyes flickered open for a moment before he lapsed back into oblivion.  
  
And in the brief instant Charlie's eyelids were parted, his eyes glowed.  
  
-------------------------------------------------  
  
ANOTHER NOTE: People are still not reviewing, so this is probably the last chapter I'm going to post. For those who did: I appreciate your input. Thanks. 


	9. Thor and Avel

TITLE: The Sought Ones  
  
SEQUEL TO: The Lost Ones  
  
AUTHOR: Cyn(di)  
  
EMAIL: custardpringle@yahoo.com  
  
RATING: PG-13. Language, thematic issues, sexual references, angst.  
  
CATEGORY: supernatural, drama, romance, angst  
  
SUMMARY: They were supposed to be gone forever. But "forever" is a very relative thing.  
  
SPOILERS: I'm assuming "Heroes" and "Lost City" never happened, but anything else is fair game.  
  
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I wasn't going to post this chapter—I really wasn't. But then Jess posted a review that ruined the cliffhanger, so I figured: what the hell, the damage is already done. Besides, I wrote a nice epilogue and I want to show it off ;) that should be appearing in a couple of days, depending on Louise's workload.  
  
Speaking of Jess . . . she just got invited to prom, which is way better than I, or any of her other friends, have managed to do. So go read her Animorphs fic (her pen name is Korean Pearl) and say nice things to her, because she really does deserve it. (No matter how pissed I may be at her at the moment.) I don't even read Animorphs, and I still love her fics.  
  
-------------------------------------------------  
  
Jack gazed around at the other four with a desperate, almost pleading look in his eyes that none of them had ever seen on his face before. "Please," he said, swallowed hard, and started over. "Please tell me I imagined that. I did, right?"  
  
The only reply anyone could think of was silence.  
  
"Fine." Jack heaved a sigh, got slowly to his feet, then bent down and lifted Charlie's inert form into his arms. "If we get him to the Tok'ra right away, they'll be able to fix it. Let's go."  
  
"O'Neill," Teal'c observed suddenly, "I do not believe your son has become host to a Goa'uld."  
  
"Really." Jack turned and glared at his friend. "Y'know, Teal'c, I'd agree with you . . . except for the whole glowing-eyes thing. That's kind of a dead giveaway."  
  
"That's true, sir," Sam agreed, also getting up. "But the eyes of a Goa'uld host usually glow white or pale yellow. Charlie's were more of a bluish color."  
  
"And . . .?" Jack stared at them. "What else could have happened to him?"  
  
"Jack," interjected Daniel, who was staring at the wall, "they're right. It isn't a Goa'uld after all."  
  
"Then what the hell just happened to my son?" Jack nearly yelled in frustration. "'Cause you don't look very happy about that."  
  
Instead of replying aloud, Daniel simply reached out and pressed a symbol on the wall, seemingly at random. It wasn't random, though; a moment later a grinding noise began to come out of the wall, and a section of the wall about two feet square gradually slid back to reveal a compartment hidden in the wall. Inside was something uncomfortably familiar: a large, ornate, doughnut-shaped object mounted on the wall, through the center of which one could dimly glimpse brightly colored lights dancing in the shadows behind.  
  
It was blue, rather than red, but that really wasn't much comfort at this point.  
  
Jack looked at it for a couple of seconds, and then groaned in defeat, gripping Charlie's body more tightly against his own. "Somehow, I don't think the Tok'ra are gonna be able to fix this after all."  
  
-----  
  
"I'm going to have to agree with Daniel's theory, Colonel," Janet said regretfully, looking up from her computer screen. "Charlie's brain is showing incredibly heightened activity, exactly as yours did when the repository of the Ancients was downloaded into your head several years ago. The only problem is that it didn't take you nearly as long to wake up afterwards as it's taking Charlie." It had been several hours, and the boy had shown no further signs of regaining consciousness.  
  
"That's easy," Jack shrugged bleakly. "Charlie's just a little kid . . . that thing's killing him much faster than it would've killed me. That's it, right?"  
  
Janet shook her head. "Actually, no. I'm not yet seeing any of the signs of brain damage that I was beginning to see in you before. As a matter of fact—" A blindingly bright white light suddenly flashed behind her, and she turned to find herself alone in the office. "Colonel . . .?"  
  
There was no answer—not that Janet had really expected one.  
  
She groaned out loud. "Great timing, Thor."  
  
-----  
  
"Great timing, Thor," Jack observed simultaneously, albeit with somewhat more enthusiasm. "I've been wanting to talk to you buddy."  
  
"I am not surprised," Thor answered gravely. "You are no doubt curious about what happened in the temple."  
  
"Damn right," said Jack angrily. "All explanations are quite welcome, thank you."  
  
Thor nodded. "Very well, although you must be patient; it is a complicated story."  
  
"I'm not surprised. Please continue."  
  
"You have already surmised, and correctly," said Thor, "that Aurel, or Avel, is not one of the Ancients. She is something far older, and far more powerful—at least, she was, until several of your years ago. At that time, perhaps out of desire for companionship, she selected a Goa'uld—Anubis, who had recently been cast out by the System Lords. Recognizing in Anubis a depth of darkness akin to her own, she helped him Ascend, thus giving him power nearly equal to hers as well. However, the Ancients detected Avel's action and tried to force Anubis back into his original form. So as to prevent him from returning to a fully mortal form, Avel found it necessary to sacrifice a certain amount of herself, giving it instead to Anubis. He took advantage of this sacrifice, and used it to become her master, rather than the other way around. Avel—who then renamed herself Aurel, as a sort of oath to herself to reclaim her former stature—was then subjugated to Anubis. This state of affairs lasted until his death, at which point the severed portion of Aurel was absorbed by Anubis' killer, Daniel Jackson. After that, it was all but impossible for Aurel to recover her lost powers directly. The only way she could manage it would be to wait until a child of his was conceived, in which case the powers would be transferred into the developing zygote and Aurel could easily reabsorb them. In order to facilitate this, Aurel chose to bring Daniel's wife back from the dead—and I believe you already know what happened after that."  
  
"Oh." Jack's lips moved soundlessly for several seconds, trying to find something polysyllabic to say and failing. "Wow."  
  
"Indeed." A hint of amusement seemed to pass over Thor's face, although one could never be quite certain. "Your son might have explained it to you as well as I could, but I do not know how much longer he will remain unconscious. I thought it best not to wait."  
  
"But Charlie will wake up, right?" Jack asked eagerly. "You can help him like you helped me?"  
  
Thor said nothing.  
  
"C'mon, buddy," Jack continued, a trace of alarm no edging his voice. "This is Charlie we're talking about here. I know you can help him."  
  
"The repository your son encountered was located in the temple to Avel, was it not?"  
  
"Well, yeah . . ." Jack squinted in confusion. "What about it?"  
  
The alien's large black eyes gazed soberly at him. "Then I cannot help him. The information he now holds is far more valuable than his single life."  
  
-----  
  
A flash of light again, and Jack was back in the infirmary.  
  
"Hello, Colonel," Janet greeted him hopefully. "What happened?"  
  
Jack related everything he'd learned about Avel, keeping back only the end of the conversation.  
  
Janet's face darkened slightly. "So that's what happened. I tried to get Daniel and Sha're to talk to me about it, but I only got the basics. Neither of them mentioned that she might be pregnant."  
  
"Probably didn't want to keep their hopes up for nothing," Jack said thoughtfully. "But I'd bet Sha're'll be back here in a week or so to get tested." The thought of children depressed him suddenly, and he fell silent.  
  
Janet noticed. "Colonel, is something wrong?"  
  
"You could say that." He told her.  
  
"Oh, damn." Janet was about to say something more—something comforting, no doubt—when a small movement on the other side of the glass caught Jack's eye.  
  
Looking over, he saw that Charlie was stirring, his eyes opening again; this time, they were mercifully normal-looking, showing only the usual brown iris without even a hint of blue glow. "Excuse me, Doc," Jack said hastily, and dashed out into the isolation room to join his son. "Hey, kid . . . how are you feeling?"  
  
Charlie moaned softly. "I have an awful headache."  
  
"I heard that," Janet said over the intercom. "I'll be in there in just a second with some painkillers."  
  
General Hammond stuck his head in the doorway. "Oh, I see he's awake. That's good. Colonel O'Neill, may I have a word with you?"  
  
"Just briefly, if you don't mind, sir." Jack followed him out into the corridor.  
  
"All right," Hammond snapped, "just what the hell is going on here? I'm getting all sorts of insane reports from Dr. Fraiser and the rest of SG-1."  
  
"They're all true." Jack grimaced and saluted mockingly. "Official report, sir: Daniel's wife who's been dead for four years is, at a guess, probably having a nervous breakdown right now. My son, who's been dead for ten, is dying again. Oh, yeah—and the single most evil being who's ever existed has just been restored to her full power. Is that what you wanted to know, General?" 


	10. An

TITLE: The Sought Ones  
  
SEQUEL TO: The Lost Ones  
  
AUTHOR: Cyn(di)  
  
EMAIL: custardpringle@yahoo.com  
  
RATING: PG-13. Language, thematic issues, sexual references, violence (sort of), angst.  
  
CATEGORY: supernatural, drama, romance, angst  
  
SUMMARY: They were supposed to be gone forever. But "forever" is a very relative thing.  
  
SPOILERS: I'm assuming "Heroes" and "Lost City" never happened, but anything else is fair game.  
  
AUTHOR'S NOTE: It occurs to me that Daniel and Sha're didn't appear in the last chapter at all. But this one more than makes up for it. Besides, there *was* a lot more plot development needed with Jack and Charlie.  
  
"An" is Egyptian for "beautiful." Technically, Budge translates it as "to have a fine appearance," but I fudged a little. I think my way sounds much better.  
  
A further item of interest: Word defines angst as "a feeling of dread arising from an awareness of free choice."  
  
--------------------------------------------------  
  
For a man of such wide experience, Jack dreamt astonishingly little—and when he did, they were usually nightmares. It therefore came as a surprise to him that night when he had said goodnight to Charlie, fallen into his own bed, and closed his eyes to find himself in his office with Oma Desala waiting for him.  
  
"Great," he greeted her sourly. "Come with eloquent words of spiritual assurance? I've had for too many of those already today, thank you very much."  
  
"I'm afraid so." Oma bowed her head apologetically. "But I may also have something else more comforting to tell you."  
  
"Really. What?"  
  
"I do not believe that Charlie will die any time soon."  
  
Jack's head snapped up. "What makes you think that?"  
  
"Thor told you that the information now stored in your son's mind was immensely valuable," Oma explained. "But it is not needed yet. The unusual effects of the download—the brief glow in Charlie's eyes, his extended period of unconsciousness—resulted from the information suppressing itself temporarily in his brain. The database will not become active until it is needed, which may not be for some time, and until then it will not be harmful."  
  
"But it will kill him eventually," Jack pointed out dejectedly.  
  
"Possibly not," she continued. "What the boy now has is not the full Repository, like what was downloaded into your own mind. He has received only the portions of it that we have deemed relevant to Avel, and thus useful to those who would fight her."  
  
"I see." Jack ruminated on this for a moment. "That's a little encouraging, at least. But I still don't know what I'm going to tell Sara. Charlie's her son too, after all. I can't keep this from her."  
  
"I've already explained the situation to her," Oma assured him. "Sara understands quite well what has happened.  
  
Jack shook his head—this was just too much. "You . . . what?"  
  
"Sara and I have known each other for a long time. I helped her through her time of grief, and she in turn helped me through mine."  
  
"Through yours?" Jack repeated, utterly bewildered.  
  
Oma gazed at him soberly. "Jack, I too have lost a son to his own good intentions. You know that quite well."  
  
"Yeah." He nodded, understanding now. "Yeah, I do. Thanks—you've helped a lot."  
  
"I am glad to hear that," she replied gratefully. "There is just one more thing I wish to say before I leave you."  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"There are no accidents," Oma reminded him gently. "What has happened to Charlie has, like all other things, a purpose. He has been given a difficult journey—but he has also been given more time in which to follow it. And that is the greatest gift that can be given to anyone."  
  
-----  
  
Five months later, it was spring.  
  
Sha're woke up late one night and found that she was alone in bed. Daniel had gotten out some time ago; the sheets were cold where he had lain. She called his name and, receiving no answer, swung herself gingerly upright.  
  
Inside her, disturbed by the movement, their daughter stirred as well.  
  
Sha're tied the sash of her robe firmly around her waist and went out into the hallway, where a moment's look around showed the back door to be slightly ajar. Walking out onto their small back porch, Sha're found her husband next to her, standing motionlessly and staring up at the stars.  
  
"Go back to bed, Sha're," he said quietly. "You should be resting."  
  
"As should you," she countered. "I am pregnant, Dan'yer, not made of sand. I will not crumble to bits for lack of a few minutes' rest. But you are going offworld tomorrow. You need sleep more than I do."  
  
Daniel turned to look at her, smiling slightly. "You know, I don't think this arrangement is quite fair. I have to go offworld and go to all the effort of finding these things, and you get to sit at my desk and use my notes to try and translate them."  
  
"I have my own desk," Sha're said defensively. "And I only use your notes because you know far more languages far better than I possibly ever could."  
  
"Could've fooled me, considering the rate you're learning them at." Daniel extended an arm and pulled Sha're closer to him, letting her rest her head on his shoulder.  
  
They stood like that in silence for a minute. Then Daniel moved his hand down to rest on her swollen stomach, and the baby shifted again in response to his touch. Sha're laughed. "Dan'yer," she said pensively, "I think I may have thought of a name for her."  
  
"I hope so." It had become an enormously difficult point for them to resolve. "What's your idea?"  
  
"An."  
  
"An," Daniel repeated experimentally, and smiled. "I like it. Besides," he added tenderly, tracing the side of Sha're's face with his finger, "with a you as her mother, how can she not be?"  
  
He kissed her, gently but for a long time, and then they were quiet again for a while.  
  
"We got a message from the Asgard today," Daniel said abruptly. Looking up, Sha're saw that his expression had clouded. "Their ships are starting to disappear. They've just—vanished. Ceased to exist."  
  
She understood immediately. "We can't be sure that it was Avel."  
  
"I can't think of anything else that could do something like that." Daniel laughed hollowly. "The Asgard used to have a ship called the 'O'Neill,' did you know that? What are the chances they'll ever have a ship called 'Jackson,' after the man who brought back the evilest being that's ever existed for the sake of a single child?"  
  
"Our child. An," Sha're reminded him. "And it isn't as if you had any choice."  
  
"But would it have mattered if I had?" he wondered out loud, and then answered himself. "It wouldn't have. Because even if Aurel had given me the choice, had just walked up to me and asked me to choose either you and An or the rest of the universe, I still would have chosen you."  
  
Sha're pressed a little more tightly against him, but said nothing.  
  
Daniel closed his eyes as if in pain. "When I fought Anubis," he said finally, "he showed me things. Things I could've stopped, and didn't. People I loved being hurt, or even killed, and I didn't do anything."  
  
Suddenly she remembered what her father had said: 'The last thing Anubis did before his death . . . he convinced him that your abduction and death were his own fault.' Sensing it would be best not to mention this, however, Sha're merely snorted. "And you believed what Anubis told you?"  
  
"Not necessarily . . . but I'm starting to remember for myself what happened while I was Ascended. And I remember Jack was being tortured, and I was there and didn't even try to stop it from happening. I just left him there, and I don't even remember why. Sha're, sometimes I don't think I'm—" he took a deep breath—"Sometimes I'm not sure I'm me anymore."  
  
"Of course you are."  
  
"How do you know?"  
  
"Because," Sha're told him sharply, "you still insist on blaming everything on yourself."  
  
Daniel laughed at that, even though they both knew it really wasn't funny. "You have a point."  
  
"Thank you," she acknowledged.  
  
Daniel laughed again, this time mocking himself. "I sound really defeated, don't I?"  
  
"You do," Sha're agreed gravely, knowing better than to coddle him.  
  
"Don't be fooled," he told her seriously. "I know perfectly well that if she can be weakened, she can be killed. We've just got to figure out how."  
  
"Don't worry—I'm with you." She nodded briefly, than smiled, remembering why she'd come outside in the first place. "Now would you please come back to bed?"  
  
"You go. I'll be there in a minute," Daniel promised.  
  
"You're sure about that?" Sha're asked suspiciously.  
  
He nodded. "Yeah."  
  
She pulled away from him to go inside, but then hesitated. "Dan'yer—"  
  
"Yes?"  
  
Daniel, there was a choice, but it was not yours to make.  
  
It was mine.  
  
When Aurel placed her hands on my stomach—even as you did only a few minutes ago—she did not simply reach in and yank what she needed from our daughter. First she asked me: Do you truly wish this to happen? Do you want me to regain my full power, so that your child may live?  
  
And I said: yes.  
  
But Sha're found that she couldn't bring herself to say any of it out loud. So, instead, she simply continued, "I love you." A cold breeze wafted briefly by, and she shivered.  
  
"I love you, too," Daniel answered sincerely, although a hint of puzzlement passed through his blue eyes as he said it.  
  
And he must have heard somehow what she had meant to say, for when Sha're at last fell asleep nearly twenty minutes later, Daniel still had not yet come inside.  
  
**[THE END]** 


End file.
